Hose rack



Feb. 5, 1957 J. A, POKRYFKE HOSE RACK Filed Feb.' 4, 1953 United States Patent This invention relates to hose vracks, and morespecifi-v cally a rack vfor hose of the type which can b`e"c'oll`a`plse`d toflat form andV folded back and forth on'itself.

The storage of such collapsible hoses for 'lighting' fires', requires that the hose mustbe held in a compact arrange-' ment which affords a quick withdrawal of thehosefrorn' the rack. Numerous rack designs have beenmanufac-A tured whichV afford easy removal of hose and theseracksy havebeen generally lsatisfactory forconventional, large diameter, nre hose installation. Such racks are relatively high Vcost and thishas prevented a more Widespread in-r stallation of lire hoses, especially'in residences and: other places where ire hoses of smaller size than said convention'-VV al, largeydiarneter re hoses would be useful. and 'where the cost is a highly important factor indetei-rninin'g whether'or'notV aref'hose`shouldbeprovided; n 30 for areadily available"tre*hose is at leastfasjg'reat residences andother small buildings as Iin the "largelfbuil'd-J ingsV where `fire 'hosesfare "genelrally; available. The `I mendos housing development in vrecerryear's hs'jcreated" innumerableeresidential sections "havinglnoorganizedlif 35 protect-infand, conseqiie'ntly; therefisv an especially" great need 1 in the "homes in such areas 1 for al readily available; connected fire-hose! Accordingly, the main Vvobjects ofthe" present in nt' are to jprovide 'ani economical rack 'fofcollapsibl hose,"

which wiumaimin the'hpse in ajcompacrstoredja l mentlperrnittingthe readywithdrawal of the hoseiwithout' any idangerfof fouling l'on the rack; to provideahosefr of theftypedescribedfwhichis"`especially suitedforf h e ofv relatively 'small 'diameter andw'hich" ymayibe "moiint'etlf orianylllatssurface; fto provide `a hose rack"atlaptexl mounting 'oiifany `a't""snr'face and 'permit 'w1 drawal "of the `hose-at any anglewi'tl4 respect to tlfieraltkV supporting 1surface; 1 to `prvidea hoseracky of th 'e' describedV above which maybe 'employed "i co'mtiinatioirY with a cabinet, in amanneirtwhich affordsselectiveinstal#` ltii 0f th abitff0f'either Ig'h'tfor'le'ftdr'dOOl opening Without changing '-fany spart" ofv the; "ca met i' rackirand in generaLit is'the object "of'the' invention 'to provide avhoserack which `is very economiealto "r'nanu`V 55 facture, simple to install, andk whichisparticularly adapt#h ablefor`use"withfcollapsible hoseof a' Asize suitablefori use in small buildings.

\ Other objectsand Va'dvai'ita'gesof tl:ie invention l,will IbeY understood byreference to the following specification and'r tothe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure `1 i's "a iside* view of the .improved "Hose" rckf mounted oilawa'll; Figure iis* a' perspective view of one `of two'isimilar" brackets -used in the improved'rackg Figiire 3 is'a perspective view of the improvedliosefrc'k" as used in l'connection` with .a cabinet 'which` 'is 'opened4r to reveal the `arrangement -of the rack' on the cabinet' door; and

Figure 4 is an enlargedA crosssectioiial vvview "takeii' throughtthe-midportionof one of the brackets'.V v .The imp'mvedhose racks sBowu'fint-hefdrawingkcorn vice prises a pair: of similar brackets `7 which are preferably made of sheefmetal, although they mayobviously be madfe'of othersuitable materials. As will be more apparentes the' disclosure progresses, -the brackets 7 areA adapted forV positioning on any generally flat surface in a manner which permits easy withdrawal of a hose 9 in any direction away from 'the bracket supporting, flat surface.

'Each o f the hose retaining brackets 7 comprises ya central web 11; 'having a width substantially equal to that of thefflattenedhose to beV stored, a short an'ge 13, and a relatively deep flange 15 which is lpreferably of arcuate or semi-circular shape. The flanges extend in opposite directions at right angles to the web portion 11 in o rder, that theshrt ange 13 maybe fastened, asby screws 17,A tojawall" 19 or'othe'r surface, and the deeper flange 1 5 will the'n -`extend in generally 'parallel relation to the wall.

Asjsnoyvn'inrigre 1, the hose retaining' bra'kets aro'dispbsedin generally aligned, vertically spacedlapart relation with their deeper flange lportions 15 extending toward' each' other, to thereby provide a hose rackl `having'hoi'iz'ontal shelf portionsprovi'ded by the Web s llano meansfor preventing lateral disp'lacei'nentV of -the hose comprising the wall '19 and the 'relatively deep, semicircular'llanges 15.' The brackets are preferably disposedso that th'flanges 15 are spaced apart, at their'free end por;t tions, sufciently to pernit the passage of a section of the ho'setherebetweenj. The "brackets 7 areformed of -relatively lightweight metal and, consequently, 'can b'e easily made in a stampingf operation', Thel`1ose' retaining v flange 15 'shouldbe totone: endofthev hose and a suitableA coupling 2 3 is prov ided at the other end for connection" with an adjacent faucet or hydrant 2:3'.v` The brackets 7 are sc spacedfthat when' the' hose is foldedupon itself vin a stackedarrangeg ment,"th fol-ded hose together with the nozzle 21" will be snugly received between the horizontal'portions 1 1 of the brackets with the nozzle at the'upper end'of the stack."

The lnovzzlellr'may beof the ordinaryxed-opening, fire lhose'type, but in the particular adaptation of `the v A unit" describedto a small diameter hose it' is preferredj that the lnozzle' be of a variable spray,' closab le or shut otf'typ'e. Thus, with a hose of approximately inch` in diameter and a variable spray nozzle thereis provided an any point in a residence without discharging water while taking the hose to and from the sceneof a re.

,From the 'foregoing description itis seen that there is provided a"I simple, economical means for' storing a collaps'ible'ho'se, such as a iire hose, in aY position of readij,

ness' for use. lt will be noted 'from Figurei l thatthe hose retaining brackets aiford an open-end rack end, consequently, the hose can beeasily withdrawn from either Y en d ofthera'ck." Furthermore, the arcuate' shape of the edge'v of this 'flange permits the withdrawal of t`l 1e `hose, froir the'rack at any angle With respect to the ilat surface supporting 'the brackets. The ange edge presents noob,-v

structing corners and, consequently, the hose'isfrce v'to assume the"direction"of withdrawal. howeverjthatif the hose `shoul'tlstick in' the"rack"fo`r slideioverthe entire length of the edge, if necessary, to`

some unforseen reason, the flange 15 is suiciently liglit' eflectiyflight-weight lire hose which may be u sed at 'It will be noted;`

a to yield under pressure and will bend outwardly to free the hose.

Referring to Figure 3 it is seen that the present invention is readily adapted for mounting on a hinged panel, such as the door 27 of a cabinet 29. It will be noted that in such case the open-end construction of the rack and the utilization of a pair of similar brackets provides a hose rack which is usable with either a right-hand or left-hand door Without change.

In the illustrated cabinet 29 for storing hose in readily accessible position for withdrawal at any angle, further advantage is taken of the features of the disclosed hose rack by constructing the cabinet so that it may be hung with the `door opening either to the left or the right, as desired. To mount the cabinet with the hinge at the opposite or right-hand side, no change in the construction or assembly of parts is required, it being merely necessary to invert the cabinet so as to place the hinge at the righthand side. In either case the hose will, of course, be stacked with the nozzle end at the top. Although not essential to the utility of such a cabinet, it is preferred that the end of the hose, which is coupled to a faucet 31 projecting into the cabinet 29, extend from the lower bracket 7 adjacent the door hinge 33 to the faucet at the opposite side of the cabinet. The coupled end of the hose does not interfere with the opening and closing of the door or the withdrawal of the hose when thus arranged. Knock-out portions 35 are preferably provided in the cabinet to provide for connection of the faucet 31 to a water pipe extending through a side of the cabinet. The cabinet may be made to be set in a recessed portion of the wall or to project from the wall, as desired.

rIt is believed that it is apparent from the foregoing description that apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention affords definite advantages in its adaptability to use on almost any plane surface, and in providing vfor easy withdrawal of the hose at substantially any angle with respect to the hose rack. Furthermore, there is provided a hose rack which is extremely simple in construction and consequently may be produced very economically. This latter feature is a particularly important factor in presenting economical tire-protection to the owners of residences and other small buildings, who are generally unable or unwilling to stand the expense of the larger, standard lire hose.

1 While described with respect to particular apparatus, it s not intended to thereby limit the invention since other modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention.

I claim:

' 1. A fire protection hose rack comprising a normally vertical supporting panel, a pair of brackets attached to said panel, one of said brackets being positioned in vertically overlying relation to the other, each of said brackets having a substantially horizontally disposed shelf part which extends laterally from said panel, mounting means extending rigidly from one edge of said shelf part and secured to said panel, and a hose retaining member which extends from the opposite edge of said shelf part in spaced, approximately parallel relation to said panel, said hose retaining members being disposed in approximately coplanar relation to each other and being of a vertical depth substantially in excess of the panel-to-retaining-rnember dimension of the shelf part so as to be operative to retain a hose stack of substantial depth on the shelf part of the: lowermost bracket and in the space between said panel and said retaining members, the mutually adjacent ends of said retaining members being spaced from each other' to facilitate insertion of a hose between said ends intosaid space and being continuously convex from side toA side of the retaining members between points adjacent to the respective shelf parts from which said retaining members extend, said convex ends serving to facilitate possible withdrawal of a hose from said space across said convex.

ends. Y

2. A fire protection hose rack comprising a normally vertical'supporting panel, a pair of brackets attached to said panel, one of said brackets being positioned in vertically overlying relation to the other, each of said brackets having a substantially horizontally disposed shelf part Which extends laterally from said panel, mounting means extending rigidly from one edge of said shelf part and secured to said panel, and a hose retaining member which extends from the opposite edge of said shelf part in spaced, approximately parallel relation to said panel, said hose retaining members being disposed in approximately coplanar relation to each other and being of a vertical depth substantially in excess of the panel-to-retaining-member dimension of the shelf part so as to be operative to retain a hose stack of substantial depth on the shelf part of the lowermost bracket and in the space between said panel and sai-d retaining members, the mutually adjacent ends of said retaining members being spaced from each other to facilitate insertion of a hose between said ends into said space and being continuously convex from side to side of the retaining members between points adjacent to the respective shelf parts from which said retaining members extend, said convex ends serving to facilitate possible withdrawal of a hose from said space across said convex ends, and said retaining members having ribs along their convex edges to reinforce the end portions of said retaining members, said ribs having transversely convex surfaces facing at least partially into said space to further facilitate possible withdrawal of a hose across said ends as aforesaid.

3. A lire protection hose rack comprising a normally vertical cabinet door, a pair of brackets attached to said door, one of said brackets being positioned in vertically overlying relation to the other, each of said brackets having a substantially horizontally disposed shelf part which extends laterally from said door, mounting means extending rigidly from one edge of said shelf part and secured to said door, and a hose retaining member which extends from the opposite edge of said shelf part in spaced, approximately parallel relation to said door, said hose retaining members being disposed in approximately coplanar relation to each other and being of a vertical depth substantially in excess of the door-to-retaining-member dimensions of said shelf parts so as to be operative to retain a hose stack of substantial depth on the shelf part of the lowermost bracket and in the space between said door and said retaining members, the mutually adjacent ends of said retaining members being spaced from each other to facilitate insertion of a hose between said ends into said space, said brackets being selectively operative as the lowermost bracket whereby said door is adapted to be provided with axially vertical hinge mounting means at one side and inverted to change the hinge mounting from left hand to right hand and vice versa.

. 4. A lire protection hose rack comprising a normally vertical cabinet door, a pair of brackets attached to said door, one of said brackets being positioned in vertically overlying relation to the other, each of said brackets having a substantially horizontally disposed shelf part which extends laterally from said door, mounting means extending rigidly from one edge of said shelf part and secured to said door, and a hose retaining member which extends from the opposite edge of said shelf part in spaced, approximately parallel relation to said door, said hose retaining members being disposed in approximately coplanar relation to each other and being of a vertical depth substantially in excess of the door-to-retaining-member dimensions of said shelf part so as to be operative to retain a hose stack of substantial depth on the shelf part of the lowermost bracket and in the space between said door and said retaining members, the mutually adjacent ends of said retaining members being spaced from each other to facilitate insertion of a hose between said ends into said space, and said retaining members being bendable away fromfsaid door by forces applied to said mem- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.162,122 Broeren Feb. 27, 1951 6 Allen Sept. 14, 1909 Bernstein Jan. 6, 1948 Pratt Aug. 17, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS Denmark of 1941 Great Britain of 1949 France of 1936 

